The company, which mainly has land-based rigs, said rig utilization days rose 20 percent in the United States - which contributes 86 percent of revenue - compared with an industry-wide increase of 8 percent.

The results are in line with the expected trend of strong quarterly results by onshore drillers, helped by the shale-fueled drilling boom in North America. The slump in crude oil prices is expected to weigh more on offshore drillers.

However, Precision Drilling cut its expected capital plan for 2014 by about 3 percent to C$908 million ($808 million), citing deferral of infrastructure and upgrade projects.

“... While overall customer demand may be impacted by further decreases in commodity prices, the demand for our super series fleet is expected to remain strong as a result of the value generated by these rigs,” Chief Executive Kevin Neveu said in a statement.

Total revenue rose about 20 percent to C$584.6 million, but fell slightly short of the average analyst estimate of C$585.8 million.

The Calgary-based company also raised its quarterly dividend 17 percent to 7 Canadian cents per share.

Precision Drilling shares are unchanged so far this year through Friday’s close of C$9.95 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. That compares with a drop of about 26 percent in the stock of its three Canadian peers. ($1 = C$1.1233) (Reporting By Shubhankar Chakravorty in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D‘Souza)